is making good on the antivirus app that wasn’t. Earlier in April, VirusShield, one of the top-selling security apps in ay, was exposed as a fraud.
Virus Shield promised ad free, one-click protection from malware for $4. Instead, the app displayed an “X” that transformed into a check mark when you tapped it, that’s it; No real protection from the bad guys whatsoever.
Recently, started sending out notifications to Virus Shield buyers that their money would be refunded in full, according to Android lice, which initially exposed Virus Shield. To sweeten the deal, is also offering an extra $5 credit towards future ay purchases.
Deeper changes needed
‘s move to make things right for Virus Shield customers is an important step, but what’s really needed is an overhaul of ay. though ‘s app store has come a long way since the wild west days of the old Android et, Virus Shield shows it’s still easy to game the system.
Ultimately, scam apps always get caught—but not always before they rip people off.
That doesn’t mean has to adopt Apple’s locked down approach for Android, but clearly something should change to prevent nonsense apps from rising to the top of the ay charts, whether that means a better algorithm to scan for fakes, or more human attention, especially for those apps that rise quickly to the top of the charts.
could also make it easier for users to report miscreant apps. Right now, you have to open the ay app on an Android device, scroll all the way to the bottom, then flag an app as inappropriate.
But you can’t choose “scam” or “makes false claims” as a reason for flagging an app. Instead, scams malware get flagged under the generic “Other” tag, which is unlikely to sound the alarm at ay HQ the way “malware” would.
